For those who missed it, that was another Orbert attempt at humor by mangling a couple of well-known expressions. I used to hear people say "It's like riding a bike" referring to how, once you've learned, you never forget. The muscle memory for riding a bike is pretty deeply engrained, probably because of the relatively high level of coordination required. Now that I think about it, it's not nearly as common anymore because kids don't ride bikes anymore.

Then there's "It's as easy as falling off a log" simply meaning that something is so easy that you don't have to think about it. It doesn't exactly require much skill. Therefore, playing the saxophone is as easy as falling a bike. It all comes back to you; you don't even have to think about it.

I live in the Netherlands, people ride bikes everywhere, all the time. But, I get it I still haven't gone there yet, all the practices so far didn't require saxophone I'm going monday in a week. In the meantime, I also haven't picked up my sax again yet, but I will do this the coming week

He gave it to me for a birthday gift. I would have never gone to the store he found it at, it was a resale shop that sells mostly things for houses (windows, cabinets, stuff like that). He went there because he needed some windows for an addition he's working on. It was one of those right time, right place deals that paid off

Logged

In high school my buddies and I built a Van Der Graaf generator. You know, to get girls.

There are, just look harder. From when I started getting my band together when I was 15, I just had my best friend as the keyboard player. It took us 5 years and multiple line-up changes to find ourselves a drummer and a bass player. The bass player has been with us for a year, but we only recently got our current drummer after our old one left. That said; it took 3.5 years to get the first stuff together, after me and my buddy had written lots of stuff already. It takes time, look for people to play with, find them literally anywhere and in the meantime, just practice on your own.

Our choir director has offerred to give me singing lessons a few times. I've always sung, never considered myself particularly good at it, but after singing in the choir for nearly 10 years now, I guess I'm getting better. Maybe she thinks I have potential or something. We're all amateurs, but she constantly gives us little tips and advises us on proper techniques and stuff. I've had people tell me I have a good voice, but I still consider myself more of an instrumentalist.

Singing lessons would be kinda cool, but... I don't know. I'm 50 years old, and I'm never gonna be a great singer. I don't even think I want to be a great singer. There's something comfortable about just being "okay" or "good enough" at something, and not trying to be more than that. Cowardly and lazy, too, but comfortable.

I feel like it's alright to recognize that you're comfortable with where you are at something because it allows you to focus on other things that might be more important. I realize that I'm good enough at guitar. Sure I'd like to be better than I am, but playing guitar isn't something that I see my self doing for a living, so I don't need to worry about it that much.

Damn it. So I quit the Concert Band I'd joined only a month or so ago.

I didn't want to do this, because I remember so clearly quitting the Praise Band I was in, and my reasons why. Wow, that was a year ago already. Sure, people here supported me, and I do think I was justified, and it's not like anyone was hurt by it. No one got screwed over, no one was left without a keyboard player or anything. But ultimately my motives were selfish, and that's always bothered me a little bit. And this time was different, but there were some odd similarities.

Community College. The top-level band is the Wind Ensemble; you have to audition for that. I was in the Concert Band; if you want to play, you're in. You can take it for credit (music majors), or non-credit (just for fun). This can lead to problems, but this band had a pretty good balance. 8 or 10 flutes, 8 or 10 clarinets, similar number of trumpets, six trombones, three baritone horns, two tuba, four French horns, three bassoons, two oboes, three alto sax, one tenor, one baritone. You almost couldn't ask for a better balance of parts.

Except that this guy doesn't like saxophones. Only three altos, and every time we played, and I mean every time, he'd look at us and motion for us to be quieter, or actually say out loud "Altos, quieter!" Over a dozen trumpets and trombones blasting away right behind us, and he can hear us, and he doesn't want to. "Everything needs to blend together. I shouldn't be able to hear individual parts!" Okay, that's true.

It's marked Fortissimo and we're down to literally blowing as quietly as we can. Any less air, and the reed won't even vibrate. "Altos, please! Blend!" In other words, if he can hear us at all (including "blended" with the brass) we're too loud.

I ask the girl to my right (Tammy, the 1st) if I'm imagining things, and she says No. Saxes always need to play at least one marking quieter than written, or he yells. At least, she emphasizes. The tenor is my co-worker and the guy who got me into this, and he agrees too. If he can hear saxophones, we're too loud. Tammy has been there four years. The guy to my left, the other 2nd, is actually taking it for credit. But someone needs to simply not play, so I guess it's me. Double-f and we're playing double-p and it's still too loud. So I don't play at all. Lip-synch, finger-synch. "Okay, that sounds better." I wasn't playing, and I couldn't hear the other saxes, either. The trumpets buried us. I guess that's what he wants.

The entire first rehearsal went like this. Second rehearsal, we got a break. Third and fourth rehearsals, he simply didn't want to hear us at all. The only time he didn't bitch about the saxes being too loud was when I wasn't playing. Due to a clerical error, there's one piece where I have the 2nd alto part and the others both have 1st. There was a spot where we go into harmony (duh) and he looked right at me, and motioned for quiet. "I shouldn't be able to hear individual parts. Blend!" I'm the only one playing that note; you're gonna hear it, you fucking moron. And yes, I'm playing as quietly as I can and still pushing air through the horn. So I stopped playing entirely. "Ah, perfect!" Now it's all unison and the trumpets can bury the saxes and it's apparently exactly what he wants.

I turned in my music. Fuck this. I don't have to be there, but if I'm there, I want to play. He has too many alto saxophones, now he doesn't, problem solved.

I agree. But what bothers me is the similarity to my last situation. Leader was a dick, I didn't see any point, so I quit. Something like that happens once, it sucks but what can you do? When it happens a second time, you start to wonder. Am I the one who's being a dick? Am I somehow subconsciously looking for a reason to quit?

I think it's just a matter of running into a couple of shitty situations in a row. It can happen. But... damn. Quitting isn't cool. And now I've done it twice.

If it's as you described (which I have no doubt it is coming from you), I don't think you're looking for reasons to quit. It just doesn't sound like either of these situations has given you what you're looking for in performing, and it's really not that much to ask imo. You want to contribute to making music as part of a larger whole. If you're at the point of not even hearing yourself playing, you're not getting any kind of musical satisfaction from it.

I hope you can find something that gives you that joy that performing should bring.

Thanks. Yeah, that's all I'm really looking for. Fortunately I still have the church choir and the praise band. I was kinda psyched about making music in a non-religious setting for once, though. Oh well. I'll be rocking this summer with the guys back home. That should be fun.

So I'm performing Purcell's Dido and Aeneas with the school choir on Saturday, and I must say that it's hands down the best project we've ever down as a choir. Purcell really is a master at crafting beautiful choir music.

As of late I'm finding I have trouble in getting myself together to practice. I don't really have a lot of time to begin with, but then when I do, I tend to do random other stuff that needs doing or just relax and shit. Bleeh, I need to get better!

I'm not much of a lead guitarist but once a week i go and hang out at my friends' rehearsal studio and I basically just shut myself away for hours and play along to Uno Dos & Tre and practice my rhythm like a mofo !

I can't play Platypus yet but BJA is probably my favourite Rhythm guitarist. I like Rhythm that is percussive at the same time.

Im a drummer in Sweden, and trying to find a band to play Dream Theater... Its fucking impossible. Why is there no DT fans in Sweden?

Most fans don't have the time to practice 6 hours a day like the guys did... DT is incredibly technical, and there are obviously not many people around who have the required genes, time and dedication to become technically proficient enough.

I got to do something new yesterday that was pretty cool. Warning: Church music stuff ahead, since that's all I seem to be doing these days.

For our Easter service, we always like to have something special, musically. In the past, we brought in trumpets, so things like "Christ the Lord is Risen Today" had some extra balls. Real brass, yeah baby! But the last couple years, the trumpets that we hired turned out to be kinda bad, so our choir director (who is also the music director in general) swore off hiring trumpets anymore. $100 each to come in and play on like three songs, and they couldn't even be bothered to practice and/or learn their parts? Get out.

But she plays the harp. I told her she should bring in the harp and that would be pretty special. She said she'd do it if I played, too. What, on piano? No, on the flute. Ah, okay. Flute and harp together would be sweet.

And it was. There's something pretty heavenly about a flute with just a harp for accompanyment. All we did was lead an Alleluia from the hymnal, but I played it through one time on the flute, then played the first verse along with the congregation. Second and third verses, I ad-libbed some stuff, so that was cool. She strummed chords on the harp for accompaniment, and it was sweet. So, another new musical thing I can check off of my to-do list (which doesn't really exist, but you know what I mean).

I love the flute and harp combo. I've composed a minimalist piece for flute, harp, 2 piano's and some brass (if I remember correctly) once. The piano (together with the) harp and the flute really add something when combined. I used to have that stuff on youtube, but I gave up on composing a while back using the old 'no time, no inspiration' excuse. I just this afternoon decided that I really start to do that again.

In the last few years I've composed everything ranging from neo-classicist/movie type pianomusic, string quartets, minimal pieces, or even prog epics, and I just one day (a year and a half ago) stopped doing that. Drives me crazy sometimes. So here it is, I'm gonna upload all of that to youtube soon as some sort of signal to myself that I'm a parttime composer, whether I like it or not.